Paradise Lost
Human habitation Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every creeping animal that is moving on the earth.” And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) 'Cultivate the earth' No bush of the field was yet on the earth and no vegetation of the field had begun sprouting, because Jehovah God had not made it rain on the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist would go up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the ground. And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person. Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in E′den, toward the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. (Genesis 2:5-9) Jehovah God took the man and settled him in the garden of E′den to cultivate it and to take care of it. (Genesis 2:15) 'Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad' Then God said: “Here I have given to you every seed-bearing plant that is on the entire earth and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. Let them serve as food for you. And to every wild animal of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving on the earth in which there is life, I have given all green vegetation for food.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:29,30) Jehovah God also gave this command to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) 'Populate the earth' Then Jehovah God said: “It is not good for the man to continue to be alone. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him.” Now Jehovah God had been forming from the ground every wild animal of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call each living creature, that became its name. So the man named all the domestic animals and the flying creatures of the heavens and every wild animal of the field, but for man there was no helper as a complement of him. So Jehovah God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man. :Then the man said: :“This is at last bone of my bones :And flesh of my flesh. :This one will be called Woman, :Because from man she was taken.” That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And both of them continued to be naked, the man and his wife; yet they were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:18-25) Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Edenic prophesy Now there was a river flowing out of E′den to water the garden, and from there it divided into four rivers. The name of the first is Pi′shon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Hav′i·lah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good. Bdellium gum and onyx stone are also there. The name of the second river is Gi′hon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hid′de·kel; it is the one going to the east of As·syr′i·a. And the fourth river is the Eu·phra′tes. (Genesis 2:10-14) Genesis 3: 3 Now the serpent+ was the most cautious* of all the wild animals of the field that Jehovah God had made. So it said to the woman: “Did God really say that you must not eat from every tree of the garden?”+ 2 At this the woman said to the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.+ 3 But God has said about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden:+ ‘You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it; otherwise you will die.’” 4 At this the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die.+ 5 For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.”+ 6 Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something desirable to the eyes, yes, the tree was pleasing to look at. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it.+ Afterward, she also gave some to her husband when he was with her, and he began eating it.+ 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings for themselves.+ 8 Later they heard the voice of Jehovah God as he was walking in the garden about the breezy part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the face of Jehovah God among the trees of the garden. 9 And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: “Where are you?” 10 Finally he said: “I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 At that he said: “Who told you that you were naked?+ Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”+ 12 The man said: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate.” 13 Jehovah God then said to the woman: “What is this you have done?” The woman replied: “The serpent deceived me, so I ate.” :14 Then Jehovah God said to the serpent:+ “Because you have done this, you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild animals of the field. On your belly you will go, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head, and you will strike him in the heel.” Birth of sin Genesis 3: 16 To the woman he said: “I will greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in pain you will give birth to children, and your longing will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” 17 And to Adam* he said: “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree concerning which I gave you this command,+ ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground on your account.+ In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life.+ 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you will eat bread* until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken.+ For dust you are and to dust you will return.”+ After this Adam named his wife Eve,* because she was to become the mother of everyone living.+ 21 And Jehovah God made long garments from skins for Adam and for his wife, to clothe them.+ 22 Jehovah God then said: “Here the man has become like one of us in knowing good and bad.+ Now in order that he may not put his hand out and take fruit also from the tree of life+ and eat and live forever,*—” 23 With that Jehovah God expelled him from the garden of E′den+ to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.+ 24 So he drove the man out, and he posted at the east of the garden of E′den the cherubs+ and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning continuously to guard the way to the tree of life. [[Category:Antediluvian narratives]